Responding to his wife’s vision in 1848, James White began a publishing program that today circles the entire globe. From that humble beginning in the living room of the White home, Seventh-day Adventists now operate 58 publishing houses that produce literature in more than 180 languages.

Many of our houses are publishers, but operate without a printing facility. They create and publish literature that is then either printed in another Seventh-day Adventist publishing house or by an outside printer who gives them the best price. Some of our publishing houses with printing facilities operate their presses around the clock, five and a half days a week, to ensure a constant flow of literature. These houses use the latest technology and the latest in web presses, which can produce as many as 1 million pages per hour.

CRS Fulfills a Unique Role
In North America, Christian Record Services (CRS) fulfills a unique role in reaching blind persons by printing materials in braille. Books for sighted children with blind parents are among the materials CRS prints. These books contain braille print along with regular text and pictures so the blind parents can read to sighted children. Books on audiotape are also made available by CRS at no cost to blind persons.

Literature Evangelism Prepares the Way

WELCOME: Hosts in national costume get ready to greet people at Jakarta's literature ministry school.

Nearly 25,000 literature evangelists (LEs) are taking materials to homes and shops around the world. It can truly be said that the sun never sets on the literature evangelist army. The Philippines, once dubbed the literature evangelists capital of the world, has 4,875 literature evangelists, but Brazil now leads, with 7,200 literature evangelists.

World sales by these ministers of the printed page during the past quinquennium amount to $598,095,840.

Soul winning is always uppermost in the minds of literature evangelists. Their goal is to prepare people for the kingdom of God through literature and personal contacts. As a result of their work, 249,231 persons were baptized during this quinquennium. In April 1999 LEs began systematically canvassing in Nairobi, Kenya, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Seventh-day Adventist publishing, which began in 1849. They sold books, enrolled people in the Bible correspondence course, and invited them to evangelistic meetings that would begin on August 1. Pastor and Mrs. José Campos preached through August, and local pastors continued during September and October. The total baptisms for the crusade numbered 3,393.

Literature evangelism truly is missionary work, and we make no apology for selling our literature, because many people will find the truth in no other way. LEs are becoming more professional by graduating from our 15

AT THE POOL: Pastor José Campos baptizes candidates in Nairobi during a campaign run mostly by literature evangelists and pastors.

literature ministry seminaries in five division territories. In addition to selling, literature evangelists distributed nearly 25 million pieces of free literature and enrolled more than 1 million people in Bible correspondence courses.

Approximately 20,000 young people participated in the literature evangelism scholarship program by selling books and magazines during holiday periods. Many would be unable to attend our schools without the benefit of these scholarships. This ministry also helps young people to develop people skills and engage in soul winning.

The Blessed “Big” Business of ABCs
Adventist Book Centers continue to provide literature to our own people for nurture and evangelism. Book centers help to equip the saints for service by providing the complete line of Seventh-day Adventist publications, and in North America the Adventist Book Center sales exceed those of literature evangelists. The largest Protestant Christian bookstore in the world is the Potomac Adventist Book Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Translation, Printing, and Distribution
The General Conference subsidizes the translation of Ellen G. White

BOOKS FOR SIBERIA: Workers in Siberia haul a delivery of books off a helicopter.

books into various languages. During the quinquennium the translation of 285 books was made possible by the subsidy from the General Conference and matched by the divisions and unions. Steps to Christ, available in more than 160 languages, continues to lead the way as the most translated book in the church.

Ellen White’s books have been particularly popular in Russia. The Great Controversy, Patriarchs and Prophets, The Desire of Ages, and Steps to Christ are printed and distributed in the hundreds of thousands. The publishing ministry is mushrooming in the former Soviet Union, with the total number of church members participating in the literature distribution there totaling more than 3,000.

 
Review Leads to Change
At the beginning of this quinquennium the Publishing Department reviewed policies and began to implement drastic changes. Two important effects are being felt from these changes: (1) divisions are more responsible for their publishing program, and (2) an open-territory, free-market atmosphere prevails. This system, which seems to work best on the continent of Africa, where the ABCs are now able to order books from any other sister house in the world, leads to lower prices and greater distribution of Adventist books and magazines.

A number of new approaches to the literature ministry are being tried in various parts of the world. For example, the South Pacific Division, rather than the unions or conferences, operates the literature evangelism program. Literature evangelists there are completely independent but are trained and supported by the division. They serve as independent contractors, with the ability to choose their own territory, pricing structure, and selling plan.

In North America, the Pacific Press Publishing Association is operating a literature evangelist program in portions of five unions, while the Review and Herald Publishing Association is responsible for portions of three unions. Two unions in North America continue to operate on the traditional literature evangelist plan.

PUBLISHING PROGRESS: The construction of the Source of Life Publishing House in Russia was recently completed.

In Germany and South Africa the publishing program is operated totally from the publishing houses. This includes both the literature ministry and Adventist Book Centers.

The publishing ministry is alive and well in the year 2000. The past is bright and the future brighter because of God’s promise that the publishing work will continue until the close of probation (Colporteur Ministry, p. 11).